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Last week, we went through some “pick hit” new releases, and this week for fun, here are some opposites:

Hits and misses – the misses

The following are examples of “what were they thinking” and (in my view), won’t be of interest for any demographic, and perhaps a study of what sort of artists and/or songs NOT to invest in. I challenge any who disagree to email me a compelling counter-argument.

LaToya Jackson “I Don’t Play That”. And you shouldn’t either. In a pointless attempt to be relevant, LaToya sing/raps about her “glock” in this rock/rap song that succeeds neither as rock or rap, complete with blanked out profanities. Let me try to be positive (this is hard). She looks pretty on the promo shot.

Jay-Z… um, pick a single! I think I’m happy to see that the “keep it real” ethic of hip hop appears to come around (and what goes around, comes around, so I hear). If you’re going to retire, retire. Or, at the very least, make the “comeback” have more impact. For a few weeks recently, it seemed like every week there was a new Jay-Z single, and in the end, none of them are doing well.

Ashley Tisdale “He Said, She Said”. I think we’re at the saturation point for new, teen-oriented pop performers. This year may be a slugfest for who gets the fame and glory. Fresh from her role in High School Musical as Sharpay (I have a kid, I have to watch this stuff), Tisdale releases her debut solo album (of course). I hope there’s better material on the cd, because this one is just kinda “typical” and has gotten lost in the shuffle.

Medley!

While I’m a fan of remix services, they don’t generally get coverage here, as we focus instead on new releases (good, and sometimes bad), and overall music and music business trends. If the song is good, a structured remix of it is probably also good for those who beat mix and prefer it (as I do). However, on the latest Funkymix issue (105), there’s an outstanding medley of hip hop from 2006: DJ 2nd Nature’s 2006 Hip Hop Medley is a radio friendly, just under 20 minute tour of all the prime hip hop hits of 2006, in ascending BPM. Exceptionally good!

Timba!

I’m spending some time with the new Timbaland album “Shock Value” and it’s good. Tim Mosley’s at the top of his game, and this could be his peak. With his production on “SexyBack”, and “Promiscuous”, Tim made a stylistic right turn to more up-tempo tracks, and it’s worked like a charm. Is he stuck in a production “sound” rut (again)? Well, it depends on how quickly you tire of a “sound”. Pre-album single “Give It To Me” with both Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado is doing well, and the next single “Release” (another cut with Timberlake) will be next. Tim’s smart in that he knows his best work has been with guest artists. Every cut features at least one of a host of guests like 50 Cent, to newcomers to rock acts, like Fall Out Boy, and even Elton John.

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Steve Sharp is a DJ in Southern California who has been spinning since 1981. In addition to running his own successful single-op business, Signature Entertainment, he also creates a weekly radio remix show for Bo’s Saturday Night Party on B95.1 FM. Steve is one of the few people who can not only play the hits, but gets involved in the story behind them and can often tell you who produced, directed and published the song and how their actions affect the music industry.

If you would like to contact Steve, he can be reached at thatdj@aol.com

Steve Sharp is a veteran of mobile D.J.ing, clubs, and radio in Southern California. He’s driven to deliver for his clients, both his private clients, and business clients, which also include representative stints for D.J. manufacturers, such as Hercules, Denon, and Virtual D.J.